Why is this important?  Because it will impact what valve goes into the wall.  What many consumers do not realize is that this valve is very integral to how you control the water in the shower and to what handle goes onto the wall.  Meaning, the valve will affect the usage and the aesthetics of the shower.

Many plumbers, if left on their own, will install a very basic valve.  It is inexpensive and easy to install.  They have installed so many of them that they can almost do it with their eyes closed.  Whereas, some of the valves that are on the market now give you the ability to run numerous water sources and have control over the temperature as well.  So, you must control this from a very early stage of your renovation or build.  Your plumbing specialist can walk you through the process of deciding what is important, what your parameters are and what valve best suits what you want to do in your custom shower.

Stay tuned for more in the next few days.

The 1 hole faucet is a single hole, single post style of faucet. It usually comes with only one handle, off the top or from the side of the body of the faucet.  This handle controls both the volume of the water and the temperature of the water.  There are many style of spouts and handles offered in this style of faucet.

Some manufacturers have produced single hole faucets with separate hot and cold handles coming off the post of the faucet, usually one from each side of the post.  The handles very often are offered in either a lever style or a cross handle.  Again, there are many styles of these faucets, from the very modern to a very traditional look.

There are two other styles of faucets, both of them requiring a three hole drilling.  One is called the 4” drilling faucet, the other is called an 8” drilling faucet.  Basically, if you can fit your hand flat between two of the holes, you have an 8” drilling sink.  If you can fit only a couple of fingers between the holes, you have a 4” drilling sink.

A 4” drilling faucet will be much less expensive than the 8” drilling faucet.  It will also not have the same quality of look, but may have a similar style to an 8” faucet, depending on the manufacturer.

The 4” faucet category also breaks down into two other categories, the centreset and the mini widespread.  A centreset faucet is very basic.  There will be a bottom plate with two handles (hot and cold) and a spout coming out of the plate, or a spout coming off the plate with a single handle coming off the top of the spout.  The mini widespread faucet actually comes in three separate pieces – 2 handles and the spout.  These faucets are a little more expensive than the centreset, but also have a lot more style than a centreset.  Both of these types of faucets will come in many styles.

The 8” faucet is also known as a widespread faucet, where the two handles and the faucet are installed separetely with a few inches between them.  A widespread faucet is usually quite a bit more expensive than the other styles of faucet, but they offer an elegance that a 4” drilling faucet just can’t compete with.  The 8” faucet will be found at all price points, and quality, but will always have a panache about them that just doesn’t compare to the other drillings.

There has been a lot a of change in the market the last few years with regards to how toilets do their job.  Almost every manufacturer claims that their toilets are the greatest flusher and will clean the bowl the best.

Virtually every toilet now on the market uses only 6 litres per flush.  This was mandated by the US Government a few years back, and all manufacturers have bought into the lower water consumption.  We are all familiar with the basic single flush toilet.  Now there is a movement to use even less water.  There are dual flushers that use 3 litres or 6 litres per flush, depending on which button you press.  Some manufacturers have anted up a bit and are now using even less water per flush!  It is ongoing in the market place, and hard to stay on top of sometimes.

We have all heard horror stories of low flush toilets that had to be flushed two and more times just to get them to do their job.  Those stories are a thing of the past, pretty much, now.  When the mandate came out to lower water consumption of toilets, many manufacturers just lowered the amount of water that a tank would fill with.  Unfortunately this just didn’t work.  Work had to be done to use the physics of the movement of 6 litres of water to do the job that 13 liters used to do.  Very few toilets on the market, especially if you purchase from a reliable, knowledgeable source, will cause you any concern.

The last few years has seen a change to larger flush valves to get the water moving with even more force.  Many toilets now have 3” and larger flush valves.  These will deliver much larger bulk movement out of the toilet.

Trapways are sometimes glazed as well.  This also increases the flow of water and therefore the aids the movement of bulk out of the toilets.

There really is no difference in the function of these two different trapways, it is totally an aesthetic.  But, to some people, this is very important.  It can also be important in some bathrooms if the side of the toilet is highly visible in the floorplan of the bathroom.  It is also an important consideration in the cleaning of the toilet for some people.  An enclosed trapway has a smooth transition down the skirt of the toilet, whereas the exposed trapway looks almost like a snake line in the skirt of the toilet, a dust catching edge for many people.

There is a price difference between these two choices.  The enclosed trapway will be more expensive, but a cost that is well worth considering for many people.

Something to note here:  If you read the first installment on choosing a toilet, you will note that this model of Price Pfister’s looks almost like a one piece toilet, but has all the advantages of a two piece!

Price Pfister’s 2 piece toilet with an enclosed trapway

Price Pfister’s 2 piece toilet with an exposed trapway

For a renovation, the first and most important piece of information to know is the rough in distance of the present toilet.  How do you find this?  Measure from the wall to the bolts on your existing toilet.  Nowadays, the most common distance is 12” from the wall.  If yours is anywhere near 12”, you are pretty good to go.  Older toilets were often installed at 10” or sometimes even at 14”.  A measure of 10” will severely limit your choice of toilets, but it is not insurmountable.  A measure of 14” is not a problem, it just means that the new toilet will sit quite far out from the wall.  Remember, when you measure to note whether there is any moulding around the floor.  This will impact, somewhat, on the choice of toilet.

Now that we have this information, we are ready to look at toilets.

The most obvious difference between toilet models is the fact that some are one piece models and others are two piece models.  There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these.

A one piece toilet is, usually, much more appealing to most people.  This is true more often to women especially, as they are the ones who usually clean the toilet.  A one piece toilet is much easier to clean with no space between the tank and the bowl to collect dirt and germs.

A two piece toilet is usually a little less expensive than the one piece toilets.  It is a function of the economics of the manufacture process and also of the economy of scale – there are more 2 piece toilets sold.

A two piece toilet is easier to replace a broken part on as you can replace either the tank or the bowl, if necessary.  Whereas, obviously, with a one piece if something breaks, the whole unit will need to be replaced.  It often depends on the household and the users of the unit as to whether this is a necessary factor to take into consideration.

Here are two hyperlinks to two of Kohler’s toilets.

Kohler’s one piece Cimarron toilet

Kohler’s two piece Cimarron toilet

I haven’t touched on wall hung toilets yet.  That is to come!  They really only work in a new build situation, so I am breaking them out of this conversation.  If you have any immediate questions, please email me.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CHOOSING THE RIGHT TOILET FOR YOU!!

Now that the Olympics, Spring Break and Easter are past, people seem to be looking, once again, at their homes.  My phone is certainly starting to ring more often.  The Home Show circuit is cranking up again as well.  Coast Expressions is showing a booth at the Ideal Home Exhibition at the Harry Jerome Ice Arena in North Vancouver on the weekend of April 9th to 11th.  I hope to see lots of my existing clients and friends, and look to making many new friends that weekend.  Please be sure to come by.

The showroom is getting more and more complete.  The functioning kitchenette is looking fabulous!  I am waiting for 2 more pieces of granite for sink displays in the cabinet, then the 2 drawer fronts can go on and the counter will be complete.  The wallpaper is in and will go up the week after the Home Show.

The washroom is complete except for the soap dispenser which will go on in a few days.  The makeover is amazing.  It is hard to believe that the room can look so much better with just a little hard work and a few pieces of new plumbing fixtures installed.

The address is: #111 930 West 1st St., North Van.  Right across from Rona.

We face directly onto West 1st St, and are beside the little restaurant called Jerry’s (the green awning to the left of our window.)  I hope that you will come by!  Especially if you are in the neighbourhood.   The grey car will indicate if I am in the showroom.  Unfortunately, I am not always able to be there, as I will have to visit suppliers and also some job sites.  If you are making a special trip, please phone first to ensure that I will be available.

My binder collection from various and sundry vendors is growing exponentially.  Many of these are relatively new lines to the marketplace as the vendors are able to put me in touch with the lines because of the fact that I am independent of any one wholesaler.  This has been a major reason for my opening an independent showroom.  I will have access to so much more product because I have no alignment with any one company that precludes another competing company.

Much of this past month has been spent in opening accounts with various vendors and doing all the paperwork.  But each week I find that more and more accounts are open and accessible to my company.  Which also makes it easier to place the orders for the display product.

The display plan is starting to come together and to make sense.  It has taken a lot of time and planning in pulling the products together and negotiating display pricing.  Some tubs will be arriving next week.  The faucet wall may have some pods on it before the start of the new year.  The orders for the product to be displayed in the front window have all been placed.  I am really quite excited about how the front window will look.  It should be quite eye catching with a large blue glass pedestal sink and a lot of chrome fixtures, and a white toilet.  There will be accessories showing as well, complete with a gorgeous, luxurious, white bathrobe hanging on the robe hook.

The functioning kitchen sink area is coming together.  The tile samples for the counter and backsplash came on Friday, so now I can choose the cabinet door colour.  The sink, the garberator and switch, the filtered water/instant hot water and faucets are all on order.  It is going to be really eye catching.